At least five people were arrested at a DUI checkpoint on West University Avenue near Westgate Regency Shopping Center on Saturday evening and early Sunday morning.
The “Operation Resolutions” checkpoint, run by members of multiple police agencies, including the Florida Highway Patrol, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police and University Police, was announced on GPD’s Facebook page Wednesday. Police called the three-hour checkpoint an effective way of enforcing traffic laws.
Three people were arrested for driving under the influence, and two were charged with drug possession, according to multiple arrest reports.
One crashed into the checkpoint, police said. Antonio Tyrone Brown, 28, of Gainesville, was arrested for driving under the influence and causing damage to people or property after he crashed into the checkpoint at about 1 a.m., according to an arrest report.
The report is unclear about who or what Brown crashed into. His blood alcohol level was .145 and .144, according to the report.
Russell Earlisha Jackson, 34, of Newberry, was asked to roll her window down at the checkpoint at 11 p.m. by an ACSO deputy. Jackson, who was playing loud music, mouthed, “It won’t go down,” to the officer, according to an arrest report.
Police said they smelled burnt marijuana when Jackson opened her door about an inch wide. Police asked Jackson to step out of the car, but she closed the door and began to drive away, according to the report.
Jackson stopped driving only when officers at the checkpoint got in her path, police said.
Over 550 cars went through the checkpoint, Officer Ben Tobias, a GPD spokesperson, wrote in an email. Officers issued 23 citations and 8 warnings at the checkpoint.
Mary Kelley, a Mothers Against Drunk Driving volunteer, was present at the checkpoint. Kelly is the mother of Emily Cook, one of two teenagers who was killed in 2014 in a crash caused by drunk driving in northwest Gainesville.
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Lewis__Robert.
